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Is it worth buying an S7 now in mid 2017? What do you guys think? I really have to upgrade to a new device. I passed on OnePlus5 because of the jelly effect, and all sorts of problems. The S7 is not flawless I know that, but I'm curious what recent users, or previous users think about it. Would you recommend buying it? I hope you guys can help me with this. Thanks in advance
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
RiTCHiE007 said:
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
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Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
Tados99 said:
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
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I have this Spigen Rugged Armor case, highly recommended
https://www.spigen.com/collections/galaxy-s7/products/galaxy-s7-case-rugged-armor-black
Takes 2 seconds to put on and take off
The S7 is a fine phone, but not exceptional. I had a Xiaomi Mi5 before it and I replaced it because of the rubbish software releases when it moved to Nougat. The Mi5 was lighter and sexier. the S7 is heavy and reliable like a family car but nothing really leaps out. Video is good, Stills camera is remarkably not sharp. S7 comes with the usual lorry load of bloatware. I use one of the battery saving modes.. its no where near as good as the Mi5 was on battery. so there you go, Strong and Stable
the\downslash\ said:
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
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I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
Tados99 said:
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
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Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
the\downslash\ said:
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
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Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
Tados99 said:
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
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Yeah, it cold be find to find a brand new one right now... In that case, the S7 is probably your best option. You might consider some of the other last-year-flagships as well, such as the HTC 10. Anyway, good luck with your purchace.
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
Androidlover99 said:
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
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WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
Tados99 said:
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
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No problem! Just saying my honest opinion on the phone, if you need anything just ask!
Wow the Pixel 3 XL is getting bagged and dogged on left and right as if it's the worst smartphone ever made. Yes it could have been designed better for sure. Try to go the more minimal notch like Essential or something, and no bottom chin, do the stereo speakers like the HTC 10, or and the iPhone XS, and Note 9's, do, etc... to allow a more full screen design. Yes give us 6GB RAM.
Mainly in tech forums I keep reading so much hate for the Pixel 3 XL;
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pixel-3-pixel-3-xl.2106788/page-68#post-26666374
And YouTube channels dogging on the phone big time
But I still wouldn't go iPhone, just not an iOS fan whatsoever. And Samsung Touchwiz not my thing either. So if I hate the iPhone, don't like Galaxy phones and the Pixel 3 is sub par, what's the other options? I wish we had a third option, a Windows Surface phone or something.
Oh well, I still have my White Pixel 3 XL on order, and not changing. Yes the notch is ugly, and more RAM would have been nice, but I still value stock Android, updated directly and quickly from Google, and the smooth fluid vanilla UI, and the amazing camera, and A+ rated display, and IP68 rating, and wireless charging. Maybe I'm a sucker, but that's my choice.
Honestly, I didn't even notice the notch when I was checking out the display phone at Verizon. I love the feel of the phone, very well balanced and light compared to my old Nexus 6. Can't wait to get my phone call on Thursday (I hope) to come and pick up my phone.
I think manly they are charging Flagship prices but not delivering on flagship hardware /specs compared to whats already on the market and instead are betting on software to carry them. Now i love pure android how its meant to be not a fan of all tweaks each manufacture adds to the phone, If Samsung offered a note 9 /S9 pure (ie stock android no mods) i think the pixel would be left in its dust. The Pixel's have always seemed to be a generation behind. I love my pixel 2 xl i know i just wanted something more to go with the great feel of stock android and what not. maybe next year, i have my 3 XL ordered and will use it for a week or two to see if its worth the upgrade over my 2 XL
How would I have like to see Google design the Pixel 3 XL? Well on a realistic manner not some unrealistic futuristic design but a realistic version could have been a cross between like the LG V30 shape and size with the minimal bezels but give it the Essential notch and stretch the screen out on the top and bottom. And then do the stereo speakers like on the Note 9 or iPhone so they don't have to be front-facing, and allow for full display with almost no bezels at like 6.2" or so. And give it 6GB RAM. And a bigger 4,000MaH battery.
At the end of the day, for October 2018, I still think FOR ME, the Pixel 3 XL is the best phone out.
- Stock vanilla Android is my bread and butter OS. I go back to owning the Nexus-One when it was new, then waiting in line for the Nexus-S at launch. I just have a thing for stock Android, all other versions of Android just irritate me, or frustrate me.
- Updates first and quickly
- A+ rated display
- Best camera
- Wireless charging now
- IP68 rating is nice
- Phone can easily be rooted, mainly for the best ad blocking and Substratum themes
No other phone right now interests me. The Note 9 or S9+ ? Not at all, no way, Lagwiz still exists no matter what people say. The LG V40, yeah that's cool, but not a fan of the LG skin, and they suck at updates. iPhone XS Max looks super cool, a very beautifully built device, really liked it a lot, but man I hate iOS, and on the XS Max the OS looks out of place, dated like something from a decade ago. OnePlus 6T, yeah will be a great phone, but they always skimp somehow.
Is the Pixel 3 XL the best phone of 2018 ? NO, not at all. But for me a stock Android nerd, it's really the only option.
Yeah if the Iphone XS Max ran android it would be a dream phone lol IMO ... That said i do think the Note 9 Running stock android with all the software options of the pixel 3 would be a great option as well .
PSA:
Don't read Mac/Apple websites for reviews on Android devices. They are quite happy being locked into their apple ecosystem and will never appreciate the open source model of a pixel device.
No hate here, just wish the display was LARGER......Note9/V40 temp me with their larger displays......but I can't get away from pure google... C'mon google, 6.5 next year!!!
Why the hate? Did you notice that big black malignancy at the top of the screen? What about specs that are less than impressive? My guess is the answer is right there between those two things. Flagship means flagship, you want to charge this kinda money you need some wow factor and the ability to say you're second to none and have that hold water.
These devices don't give me that vibe. Too me they're like the second toughest guy on the block saying "Look, I can juggle!" As to the former enough has been said about it. I personally found my Best Buy experience to fall between what some said. At points when I was busy manipulating the GUI I forgot about it completely. Any time I stepped back from specific tasks the thing jumped out at me, it was like getting mugged with an ugly stick every timei looked at the phone as an object.
Yeah, I'm stupid so I'm still thinking about buying even though I'm not convinced I won't be sorry.
razor237 said:
I think manly they are charging Flagship prices but not delivering on flagship hardware /specs compared to whats already on the market and instead are betting on software to carry them. Now i love pure android how its meant to be not a fan of all tweaks each manufacture adds to the phone, If Samsung offered a note 9 /S9 pure (ie stock android no mods) i think the pixel would be left in its dust. The Pixel's have always seemed to be a generation behind. I love my pixel 2 xl i know i just wanted something more to go with the great feel of stock android and what not. maybe next year, i have my 3 XL ordered and will use it for a week or two to see if its worth the upgrade over my 2 XL
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I don't agree with this at all. The pixel 3 xl has a Samsung screen which looks amazing (and I bet is par or at least close to what you see on a Samsung phone), it has the latest Quallcom processor, the best cameras and software, same day updates, wireless charging, front facing speakers, I mean, what else does it need to be 'flagship specs' to you? What, because it only has 4 GB of RAM? That's literally the ONLY thing I can come up with, and that's only because many OEM's have stuffed more RAM in their phones this year. And honestly, it's not really necessary, at least not for 90% of people who use smartphones. Sheet, iPhones only have 4 GB or RAM. They only had ONE GB or RAM for a looonnnggg time. No one complained about that.
To me, this is a premium flagship, no question. The hate is mostly the RAM and notch. It's superficial. Last year it was the blue shift. Which, I think that plus the terrible quality control was actually warranted. This year, it's not much to hate on. Either you like it, or don't get it. And you can hide the notch. Either way, I'm excited about it coming today. I LOVE 2 xl, but I'm definitely ready for this upgrade, even though I was very on the fence before I checked one out in the store. My point here is, people are going to hate on something every time. Every time. If you don't like something, don't get it. It's really that simple.
My $0.02
gettinwicked said:
I don't agree with this at all. The pixel 3 xl has a Samsung screen which looks amazing (and I bet is par or at least close to what you see on a Samsung phone), it has the latest Quallcom processor, the best cameras and software, same day updates, wireless charging, front facing speakers, I mean, what else does it need to be 'flagship specs' to you? What, because it only has 4 GB of RAM? That's literally the ONLY thing I can come up with, and that's only because many OEM's have stuffed more RAM in their phones this year. And honestly, it's not really necessary, at least not for 90% of people who use smartphones. Sheet, iPhones only have 4 GB or RAM. They only had ONE GB or RAM for a looonnnggg time. No one complained about that.
To me, this is a premium flagship, no question. The hate is mostly the RAM and notch. It's superficial. Last year it was the blue shift. Which, I think that plus the terrible quality control was actually warranted. This year, it's not much to hate on. Either you like it, or don't get it. And you can hide the notch. Either way, I'm excited about it coming today. I LOVE 2 xl, but I'm definitely ready for this upgrade, even though I was very on the fence before I checked one out in the store. My point here is, people are going to hate on something every time. Every time. If you don't like something, don't get it. It's really that simple.
My $0.02
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I was simply stating why i think so many people hate the new pixel 3 xl from reading it sure does seem like a lot don't like it.
I agree the screen looks great but it should since they woke up and used a Samsung panel this time yay , my issue with it is its basically the same size as the 2 xl when you look at the usable part of the display and that is kinda disappointing to me i wanted a screen the size of the note 9 / XS max on the pixel 3 xl instead they went with a huge notch that takes away from the phone in stead of adding to it i honestly think they would have been better with out it at all, in person the notch isn't bad at all its big but once you play with it for a bit i didn't notice it as much and i don't mind the bottom chin as people call it since i love front firing speakers always hated cupping the end of the phone to direct the sound lol . They added an extra front camera and notch but no type of face id another missing feature that would have been a great addition to the pixel but we got wireless charging back so i guess its a trade off.
I said nothing about the ram because i think that's a mute point for most for the exact reason you said, apple has had little ram for a long time there is a difference between the two since apple designs the cpu they can help optimize it for the amount of ram they are using but mostly they iOS optimized for how it can handle the ram. google does the same with the pixel, most of the other phones need the extra ram because all the bs they add uses so much of it. for me as of now my daily usage on my 2 XL is 2.4-3.2 or so, 4gb is enough for me in 6 months that may not be the case but i doubt it
everyone has different ideas of what makes a phone flag ship quality or not, so this is just my opinion and you can agree or not for me i feel they could have done better and they came up a bit short compared to other phones only time will tell though and i still cant wait to get mine and use it to see if its worth the upgrade from the 2xl or not for me.
Nah, I don't buy it. Flagship is flagship. Almost flagship if it weren't for one big weakness is not flagship, it's second rate. I'm one of those people that can take advantage of more than 4 gigs of ram, I'm currently using 3.2 at home which is about average for me but usually hit in the upper 4s, lower 5s at work. Go ahead and name the one phone which is claiming flagship status and charging flagship prices but does not have me covered? See where I'm going?
Flagships is flagship, not second best with software optimization that every rooted oneplus will have installed not too far down the road on a phone that costs little more than half the price. Yeah, I'm talking about the camera. Still perhaps best in class overall but more than one reviewer has noted that telephoto shots lag behind other flagships including the fruit devices. They need to up their game here, flagships don't polish turds, they deliver the best hardware and polish that.
One that doesn't bother me in the slightest that I noted is the phones perceived build quality is a step behind Samsung and Apple. I cant point to one particular thing, either of those two just felt a little more expensive. As I said, I don't care because the phone will go into a case and I wont see it again until I give it to one of my kids or grand-kids in the spring.
So yeah, to me it feels like it's not quite up to flagship par except in price. It's all those things combined that give me that impression. And yeah, I'm still thinking about buying it, last night I got as far as putting it in my cart. Pixel has always been more the whole than the sum of its part, they are satisfying to own even if some things about them are underwhelming. The doubletake on the notch has me spooked though, when I was moving around the GUI it faded out of existence but when I just looked at the phone I kept doing this "whoa, what the hell were they thinking" thing. Cant figure out if that's ever going to go away or if it's going to be like a sore tooth. Still, buy in or not I'll never really consider it flagship hardware and every redraw I get will remind me of it should I start to forget.
The flagship price, the poor software utilization of the notch, the smaller battery and 4 GB RAM were the deal breakers.
The Note 9 is every bit as fast as the Pixel 3 XL, has a much better screen, better battery and SPen for the same price. The Pixel 3 XL may very well be a great phone but when priced with the Note 9, it needed SOMETHING to justify the price. Also, one can easily get a great condition LG V35 ThinQ or S9+ with better specs for hundreds less. Once the price drops, then it might be a better competitor.
For me a premium device needs to last me 2 years and be a useful companion for the duration.
The phone needs to be well built to last, have a good screen and the hardware features need to be ergonomic.
In addition to this the phone must have quick, well thought out software that ties in nicely to my favourite services.
For me, my best option is the Pixel 3 XL. I was considering the new Mate 20 pro as it is very similar in price here in the UK but there is now way I'll be putting up with their software and clutterware for two years. I'm also put off by their storage media and awful to uae, curved screen.
The pixel is getting stick for having underwhelming specs but this is a very short-sighted view unless your sole purpose for the device is to run benchmarks. People needs to evaluate what they use their phones for and what they need to achieve that.
I'm running the original Pixel XL 32Gb and it is still fantastic for all of my everyday uses. My wife is in fact selling her Samsung s9 and will be having my Pixel now that I've upgraded to the 3 XL.
Just as a side note, iPhones are brilliant for many as they offer a great experience across their devices and therefore are useful for their duration. This is more important than having a 40MP camera and 8Gb of RAM for the vast majority.
A lot of that was subjective: I find the Apple experience awful, spread it out across more devices and I call that cancer. I have to say however that your concept in general is on the mark in that the experience is what matters rather than the numbers. It's a fair summation.
for the peeps that hate on the notch and the ram .. just go buy the OnePlus 6T and be done with it
It's all just opinion as we have stayed here. The easy to pick on parts of any product is the visual appearance and listed specs. The new pixel XL appears to be poor in this area for a lot of people. Usabilit of the entire package is impossible to judge from online reviews.
If it is anything like the original Pixel, the phone will be great. If it's like my old Samsung phones or my iPhone 7, no thank you.
The phone is what it is. If you don't like it for the way it looks or a feature that it has or doesn't have, don't buy it. If all you have to say is you hate the notch, spare us. There are a lot of phones I don't like. I don't buy them and I don't seek out their communities and complain about them. This forum is here for the people that have the phone, not for those that hate it.
dmb219 said:
The phone is what it is. If you don't like it for the way it looks or a feature that it has or doesn't have, don't buy it. If all you have to say is you hate the notch, spare us. There are a lot of phones I don't like. I don't buy them and I don't seek out their communities and complain about them. This forum is here for the people that have the phone, not for those that hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This! Sooo much this! Last year with the pixel 2 xl, there were so many trolls who had zero intention of ever buying the phone who came onto the forum just to talk sheet. One thread went hundreds of pages. It was ridiculous and stupid. If people like that really have that much time on their hands that they have to go troll things that have nothing to do with them, get a hobby or a life. Seriously. I'm surprised there isn't more yet on here. But, people have only begun to start getting their phones, so, I'm not holding my breath that it won't start.
It still looks like a toy next to any Samsung phones.
My note 9 looks like a monster next to my xl3.
I hate the notch. I'm not those people that will get over it.
I never will.
Anyway, display on xl3 looks great to me.
Camera is amazing.
Anything else
Thought I'd share my initial impressions on the Oppo Ace2 since it has not gotten much coverage. I also owned the Red Magic 5G for a week before selling it.
I'm coming from a Oneplus 6 and have owned a lot of other Android devices, off the top of my head these include the Nexus 4, OnePlus One, Asus Nexus 7, Samsung Tab Pro 8.4, Galaxy S7 Edge, Huawei Nexus 6P, LG v20, Lenovo ZUK Z2, Mediapad T5, Red Magic 5g etc.
Let's start with the Red Magic 5G. I ordered this a few months ago off tradingshenzhen, it got to me fast enough and the price was fair, but their customer support was not very good (I will not be ordering from them again cause of this https://i.imgur.com/2qd4zPM.jpg). They'll get your phone to you and offer one year warranty but don't expect them to be nice or helpful in the event you dont like your phone or have any issues.
Either way, here my notes on the phone:
Software
I got the Chinese version of the phone. I found the software experience to actually be very good despite this, ignoring the fact that there were some chinese apps that I didnt understand. I'm sure if I removed these few apps I would have had a very good software experience. The software felt very smooth and stable. There were some pretty cool features, but not a ton. Experience felt close to stock android, but lightly skinned with the right theme after some setting up. It didnt come with play store, I just had to install the playstore from apk, chrome and google keyboard then I had an experience not all that different from my OnePlus 6. My red magic 5g got a lot of updates in the time I had it, with big change logs, I'm not sure if global rom users will get that same experience since these types of phones seem to get better support in China.
Display and Body
This is where my mind was blown. That 144hz screen is beautiful and smooth. This was definitely what I loved about the phone most. However, I had my gripes with this screen. For one the, bezels were huge, and the corners were too rounded (meaning less screen). They were so rounded that it was distracting to me, almost as much as having a notch.. This might be a gross exaggeration but I hope it gets my point across. As for the large bezels, it feels like they used the "gaming phone" identity as an excuse to cut corners here with bezel size. It bothered me that there's so much potential screen space being wasted with those large unused bezels. Now the body has very nice comfortable shape, so I don't have anything against that, but it is kind of big, and it is pretty heavy. It felt very premium and nice in hand, but at the same time, it was not comfortable to one hand for long periods of time, it's size and heft also made it a little unwieldy for one handing. This is the main reason I ended up selling this phone. I would often find myself going back to my oneplus 6 instead of using my new phone cause it was just way more comfortable to use with one hand.
Battery and Misc
Microphone was good according to those that I called, speakers sounded fine to me, werent bad at all. They were stereo speakers, one bottom firing and one in the ear piece, which was nice. Battery was meh. For a 4500mah battery phone, it died very fast. Battery felt about the same as my much older oneplus 6 in it's current state.. Around 6-7 hours of screen on time with regular use (not gaming). With gaming I got around a little more than half that. It charged at a decent speed, not slow but not astonishingly fast. My Red magic 5g benchmarked around 595k on Antutu, so it was very fast. The fan was barely audible in it's intelligent mode or whatever it's called. Personally I think the fan is pointless, and that good thermal design makes a much bigger difference. I loved having the shoulder triggers for gaming. playing games like codm, pubg, etc were great experiences. I sunk hours into these games even though I dont tend to really do any smartphone gaming. I don't really like that manufacturers are trying so hard to make phones into "gaming phones" cause they are still just phones at the end of the day. If anything I would like to have a good value flagship (or flagship killer) with shoulder triggers, it doesn't need to be a "gaming phone". For instance, I think the oneplus 8 (or pro) but with a flat screen + shoulder triggers would be the perfect and ideal phone for me.
I also ordered the Realme X2 Pro but the seller (realme's aliexpress store) cancelled this order due to shipping issues. Then I ordered the Poco F2 Pro but GearBest hadn't shipped it out even after 3 weeks so I cancelled the order. Finally I ordered the Ace2 off Giztop and this was a much better experience. Order placed Friday, shipped out Monday, then received next week Monday (today). The Ace2 was discounted to $589.99 and I got a further 4% discount with the GTRE4 code. Shipping was $30 (DHL) and duties/brokerage was $37, so I paid a grand total of around (roughly) $632. Not bad. The shipping, handling, duties and fees all together were still less than Canadian tax (13%). Canadian retailers sell phones like the Poco F2 pro for around $580 (USD), after taxes that's $655, not even including shipping costs. Much better to wait a little for longer shipping and buy from outside of Canada it seems. So let's talk about this phone.
First and foremost, I'd like to note I do get buyer's remorse (like I did with my red magic 5g), but I've never had any issues post-purchase rationalization. If I don't like something, I don't try to justify it, especially where phones are concerned and having owned so many different devices, both good and bad. For example, the LG V20 was my most expensive purchase and easily the phone I hated most out of all the devices I've owned. I had already paid for it, so I stuck with it even though I hated it for at least a year, before finally getting my current oneplus 6. The LG V20 was so bad that I thought my much older nexus 6p was wayyy better, I wanted to go back to it so bad but I had already handed it down to my mom. While I liked the red magic 5g, I didn't like it enough to keep it and ended up selling it at a loss. My point here is, that these are just my opinions, but I do try to be as unbiased as I can be. I bought the Ace2 knowing that I would sell or return it if I didnt like it, like I did with my Red Magic 5g, so I didnt have my hopes high or any plans to keep it if I wasnt happy with it.
Setup
The unboxing experience was very basic, like any other Chinese smartphone so I will skip this part, but it does come with a pre-applied screen protector and a surprisingly nice clear case. I thought it would be a cheap clear case that looked nasty on the phone.
First thing I did was update the phone's firmware, then do a full factory reset. I set it up fresh, uninstalled what chinese bloat I could (there was a lot), installed playstore with the first apk I found, then using that I installed chrome + google keyboard. After turning on the app drawer, and dark mode I felt I had a very usable experience similar to what I had on my oneplus 6. I hate migrating phones, but the experience here wasnt too bad, I downloaded and used oppo's phone clone app from my oneplus 6, it connected the two phones with direct wifi and copied 30 gigs of data over in around 15min. I did not get much control in what gets copied over but it was still a very simple and hassle free process that I could appreciate.
Software
I'm going to start with this phone's biggest weakness. So the software is.. a mixed bag. Say what you will about the design, but ColorOS and oppo launcher are really well optimized. ColorOS has really come a long way from what it used to be. I tested a bunch of different launchers on this phone but I ended up going back to the oppo launcher cause it was just wayyy smoother and responsive. I wish that's all I had to say about the software but there's a lot more to say.. like how bloated this phone comes. Just random chinese apps everywhere. Most of them can be uninstalled off the bat, but the rest need a little more work to get rid of, including ADB and a little research. I actually think I would have liked coloros a bit more than oxygenos had this been a global version and came with less bloat. It's just a big hassle that I'm sure nobody wants to deal with after getting a new phone. The software experience here is great- if you're chinese. If you're not, you have a whole lot of work to do to get it somewhere good. On the other hand, I thought coming from oxygenos I thought this would be a complete downgrade, but much to my surprise there are a lot of things it actually does better. There are way more features, yes I mean useful ones, it feels smoother and more responsive for some reason (the animations are way quicker and smoother). I think ColorOS isn't actually that bloated once you get rid of the apps you don't need (using ADB where you need to). OxygenOS is great and used to be way ahead of it's time, but I feel the other choices available have caught up while OxygenOS hasn't really gone anywhere. My OnePlus 6 barely gets updates and is slow to get them when it ever even gets any. I've noticed that's a common occurrence with OnePlus devices, you get a lot of quick updates when your device is still a new release, but then it gets put on the backburner as new devices come out.
Display
This display is amazing, it's breathtaking. Side by side with my oneplus 6 it looks and feels like an upgrade in every way. The colors are better, and the smoothness is so satisfying, every bit as much as the 144hz display I had on my red magic 5g, which further leads me to believe anything above 90hz isn't really worth the price premium and battery cost. The punch hole was a little distracting at first since I wasnt used to it, but I quickly got used to it and dont even notice anymore. It's a very small punchole and is a nice upgrade from the big notch my oneplus 6 had. I would rather have this punch hole then the huge top bezel (and lost screen space) the red magic 5g had any day. I didn't realize this until I had the red magic 5g in my hand and wish I realized this sooner. The whole point of notches and punch hole I think is to give us more screen where we used to have bezel, and this is something I appreciate a lot more now. One of the biggest things for me here is that the screen is flat. I'm soo glad that I didn't have to compromise with curved edges. After owned an s7 edge, I never want to deal with that again. I know they aren't as bad as they used to be, but I still think it's silly to have to compromise with how the light reflects off of curved edges, the accidental touches or touch rejection, finding screen protectors that work, etc. If flat screens are cheaper I dont see why more manufacturers dont choose to go this route on their budget flagships at least (looking at you mi 10 non pro and oneplus 8 non pro).
Body
This phone is very solid and quality feeling. It doesn't have any super outstanding premium feeling that a higher end flagship might give you, but it does not feel cheap at all. The body is your typical metal frame, gorilla glass 5 sandwhich build. I have to say though, I love this two tone color on the back. It's like a black/navy type color that looks really elegant and sexy in my opinion. I hate oreo shaped camera modules but this is the one phone that I think it actually looks good on because of it's simple minimalist design. My favorite part of this phone is the weight and size. It's almost the same as my oneplus 6, in both weight and size, but has a larger screen. To me, that's amazing, because looking at all the new SD865 phones released this year it felt like I was going to have to give up the light weight and compact size of the oneplus 6 to upgrade to a "better" phone. It's one of the smallest and lightest Snapdragon 865 phones available and it IS the smallest and lightest one available with a flat screen, which exactly what I wanted. It just feels soooo comfortable in hand compared to anything else I've recently used. They really nailed the comfort aspect with this phone. I had no idea this was going to matter so much to me until I used the red magic 5g for a week (which isnt even that big or heavy for a gaming phone, there are worse offenders out there like the black shark 3). I can see why some people really want smaller phones now. For me, I like having a big screen, so it's not smaller phones that I want, but phones that have better screen to body and weight ratios.
Sound
Now here's where I found a nice surprise. Good stereo speakers. Never thought I would ever care about having this. I'm a headphone guy, and phone speakers always suck anyways so why would I care (so I thought). These are by far the best phone speakers I've ever heard, and they somehow blew me away even though I've never cared about how good the speakers on a phone were. They get very loud, and they sound very full. Even at the loudest volume setting where I expected the fidelity to deteriorate, it still had nice clear, smooth, full sounding stereo audio. I saw someone on reddit asking for a phone recommendation with good stereo speakers, apparently it was a must for him, and I didn't get why until now. I no longer feel the need to grab my headphones when I want to watch a youtube video, the stereo experience on this is just much better. There is still a con to be talked about however, no headphone jack. Having a headphone jack would have been nice, and even cooler if the phone came with a nice DAC (pretty much the only thing LG does right in their phones). Not a huge deal for me, I would be using bluetooth or a USB DAC anyways if it didnt come with a good internal DAC but it does make things less convenient in a pinch.
Battery and Performance
Well, it has a snapdragon 865, haven't had a single hiccup yet. Phone is blazing fast as expected. Coloros is well optimized too. Battery is good too, I will report screen on times soon. Much better than my red magic 5g so far from what I can tell. The main star of this show though is that 40w wireless charging and 65w wired charging. Charging cable that it came with is kind of short but the phone charges so fast I don't think it matters. 4000mah might seem small compared to alternatives, but coloros is surprisingly very efficient with it, even with 90hz on and all the chinese bloat it came with. Im surprised they managed to fit a battery this size and a 40w wireless charging coil in such a compact and light phone (relative to similar spec phones).
Closing thoughts
I think this is what the OnePlus 8 should have been, and I hope for others that this is what the Realme X3 pro is going to be if not better. There are a lot of things more expensive oneplus 8 is missing out on here, like the 65w charging, wireless charging, flat screen, etc. The only thing I think it has going for it is that it seems like a nicer build/quality phone with better software. I think the Poco F2 pro on the other hand is a solid contender because it actually comes with global software, has a huge battery + great screen on time, has a decent camera and will have a big developer community. I ultimately ended up passing up on this phone because it doesnt have 90hz, wireless charging, 65w charging, doesnt support very many frequencies, has a slower face unlock and cause its a pretty heavy phone (so not as comfortable), but this phone will make sense as a better choice for many others that have different priorities. Pick what suits you and your needs best. All in all, this is a very underrated phone that doesn't get talked enough about outside of Asia. I think if you're interested in the Ace2, feel it fits what you want well at a price that you think is good that you shouldn't be afraid to buy it. It's a great phone and it's worth it. Just note that you may need to do some extra work to make the software experience good for you because of the chinese bloat (as you would need to with any chinese rom phone anyways). Not to say that the software is bad, it's very good software that's just marred by all the extra chinese stuff it comes with that most of us probably dont want or need.
If there's anything more you guys would like to know about any of the phones that I own or have owned please let me know. I'll try to answer them the best I can. Would love to see some form of an Ace2 community grow but I won't be surprised if it's just me even months later.
Inspiring
I think that based on your detailed review (That I read before on reddit) I’m convinced to purchase this phone, the only android experience I’ve had was an old samsung s7 edge so I’m convinced that the ace 2 will be smooth, so one question: can you guide me on how to debloat the phone once I get it?
I'm just about to pull the trigger on this beautiful foldable, the only thing I'm worried about is that I use my device the most for watching movies, youtube and twitch.
That black bars kinda bother me.
The other thing is about the durability over time of the screen because I think it will eventually brake after some years of folds. Am I wrong?
Please help me decide beetween this and Oppo Find X2 pro. (I don't care about the price tag as I want to keep the new device for at least 4 years and enjoy it the most)
About my second choice is because I want to fully enjoy a QHD 120hz display and I'm not worried about the battery life for many reasons.. (I had that device and was perfect for me but I experience some pink tint issues so I asked for a refund)
I don't really like do the lottery and hope for a better screen with Oppo or Oneplus screen.
I hope someone can help me.. thank you in advance,
Alessio
You're going to get black bars because of the screen ratio of the device when unfolded. You get smaller black bars when watching in landscape unfolded, but then the camera hole punch cuts into the video content. In portrait you get bigger bars and smaller content, but the hole punch is within the top black bar.
As for durability, I've read Samsung have tested for a certain number of folding/unfolding which equates to opening the device 100 times a day for 5 years. I can't remember where I read this and can't find anything when Googling.
It's supposed to be rated for 200,000 folds. Check out the Fold 1 Forums and ask folks about durability. The Fold2 is supposed to be a lot better.
Sent from my SM-F916U1 using Tapatalk
I've had mine for 2 days now. My previous phone was a Galaxy S20 Ultra which I'm now putting up for sale. Before getting the Z Fold 2, I also bought a Surface Duo, used it for a day and hated it, so I returned it.
It has been a learning curve with the Z Fold 2 because it's such a different device. Still not sure I love it but it's definitely growing on me. The weirdest thing was getting used to the small cover screen but I am now used to that.
I will say that the hardware is fantastic although it is a more fragile phone because of the folding screen and lack of water and dust proofing.
I don't think I'm going to have issues with the screen as long as I don't fold with something in it or press it too hard. The black bars don't bother me - that's just a result of the screen having such odd aspect ratio. The screen is a beauty. I still can't believe Samsung pulled this off. Yes the crease is there but really not an issue.
The only other issue I have with it is how slick it is since my case hasn't arrived yet but I expect that to not be an issue with a case.
I think if you decide to go for this phone, you'll like it a lot as long as you are willing to go through the learning curve of the new form factor. Worst case scenario you can always return it for a refund.
I saw it as a brilliant yet highly flawed device when I got it. Now I cant use a regular phone anymore, they're completely ruined for me. I would have preferred the device be wider because I still don't like the front screen to this day and a little wider would be all it takes to fix it. That inner screen though, shes a beauty. The internet is so much easier to browse in that format, games look fantastic, videos are unfortunately not as good as they could be thanks to the idiotic placement of the inner camera. Yeah, I know why the decided to put it there and I disagree with the decision. This phone is all about that screen and the stupid placement makes videos smaller than they should be or puts a hole in them. Neither should have been happening because it hurts the phones best attribute. As I said; flawed. I cant however go back, regular phones seem ridiculously limiting now.
I upgraded from the OG Fold and love the 2, Marked improvement all over.
The hinge is also a lot stiffer with the added functionality in the Fold 2
Watching content doesn't bother me, you get used to the black bars and it's still a much bigger viewing area than a regular phone.
My only concern is you wanting to keep it for 4 years, this is obviously new technology so no one is going to be able to say whether it can last for that length of time. I had the fold one near 9 months and never had 1 issue with it, no issues with the screen or folding.
I go with a Note. They will last 4 years and are dust/water sealed, add a good case and you're good to go.
If you charge the battery wisely (40-65% charges) you may get 4 years out of it too.
The 10+ is a proven performer and comes loaded with Pie if you prefer that OS as I do. It's got 2 OS upgrades so it should take it to 11 at least.
The 20U may have some minor issues but it seems like a solid Note.
Both support massive SD cards and are fun, fast, responsive machines with drop dead gorgeous displays.
Samsung has over extended its self both technically and financially on the Fold devices I think to spite all the glowing reviews.
Browse the forums of other current Samsung models here to get a better idea of just how small the niche is for this device. Its novelty alone will make it harder to get online tech support for. Samsung online/phone support sucks; some of the worst I ever experienced.
I blew off upgrading to the 20U because Samsung didn't give me anymore bang for the buck than my 10+.
In addition to that was Android Q with its scope storage is a performance hit not seen with Pie. It will also render legacy apks I use a lot most likely unusable.
If the Notes don't provide enough real estate, the Fold 2 be your only choice for now. The next generation should be better.
Lol, Samsung claims the conformal coating on the Fold 2's PCBs are it's waterproofing. Pure hogwash; all the switches and micro connectors are vulnerable.
I would never even consider a smartphone without water and dust sealing. Even my ancient first flip phone had them.
10 years latter it's still functional...
blackhawk said:
I go with a Note. They will last 4 years and are dust/water sealed, add a good case and you're good to go.
If you charge the battery wisely (40-65% charges) you may get 4 years out of it too.
The 10+ is a proven performer and comes loaded with Pie if you prefer that OS as I do. It's got 2 OS upgrades so it should take it to 11 at least.
The 20U may have some minor issues but it seems like a solid Note.
Both support massive SD cards and are fun, fast, responsive machines with drop dead gorgeous displays.
Samsung has over extended its self both technically and financially on the Fold devices I think to spite all the glowing reviews.
Browse the forums of other current Samsung models here to get a better idea of just how small the niche is for this device. Its novelty alone will make it harder to get online tech support for. Samsung online/phone support sucks; some of the worst I ever experienced.
I blew off upgrading to the 20U because Samsung didn't give me anymore bang for the buck than my 10+.
In addition to that was Android Q with its scope storage is a performance hit not seen with Pie. It will also render legacy apks I use a lot most likely unusable.
If the Notes don't provide enough real estate, the Fold 2 be your only choice for now. The next generation should be better.
Lol, Samsung claims the conformal coating on the Fold 2's PCBs are it's waterproofing. Pure hogwash; all the switches and micro connectors are vulnerable.
I would never even consider a smartphone without water and dust sealing. Even my ancient first flip phone had them.
10 years latter it's still functional...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you actually own a Z Fold 2?
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
krabman said:
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Q renders (or soon will) many legacy apks unusable not the Z. Not so funny if you're running Q...
It's a prototype. I build prototype$ not buy them.
I am however fascinated in this product in more ways than one... Samsung gro$$ly overextended themselves on this product line and the game they're playing isn't low poker.
TheMountain said:
I'm just about to pull the trigger on this beautiful foldable, the only thing I'm worried about is that I use my device the most for watching movies, youtube and twitch.
That black bars kinda bother me.
The other thing is about the durability over time of the screen because I think it will eventually brake after some years of folds. Am I wrong?
Please help me decide beetween this and Oppo Find X2 pro. (I don't care about the price tag as I want to keep the new device for at least 4 years and enjoy it the most)
About my second choice is because I want to fully enjoy a QHD 120hz display and I'm not worried about the battery life for many reasons.. (I had that device and was perfect for me but I experience some pink tint issues so I asked for a refund)
I don't really like do the lottery and hope for a better screen with Oppo or Oneplus screen.
I hope someone can help me.. thank you in advance,
Alessio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry i'm late to the party!!! So i came from a Find X2 pro to the Fold 2 and honestly i love the fold 2. I work at a Machine shop and my fold 2 has been perfectly fine (im not saying its the most durable phone on earth , but it definetly feels like its gonna be just fine). if there were any major drawbacks id say the lack of cases that protect the hinge spine , and the crappy rubber inner screen protector (which has been removed),and the cameras (comparing to the Find x2 pro directly) .
overall the black bars while watching youtube i can live with cause it has so much real estate on the inner screen that it quickly became something i dont notice anymore.
The cameras are good not the best but good, the find x2 pro camera was fantastic.
My main issue has to be cases, i currently have 6 cases (araree bonnet wallet,spigen thin fit,gkk thin fit,2xchinese "leather back" cases,ringke clear) and the Araree bonnet is the only one that protects the spine yet its awkward to use when folded(back of case digs into finger when holding 1 handed and cover hanging is a minor annoyance) when open the case is ok. all the other cases yeild the same result , when closed they protect the front & back but leave the spine exposed when folded. so its a catch 22 in the case department.
I also applied a Dbrand teardown skin "ultramatte" and its awesome cause the black back of the phone was a fingerprint haven.
So im sure ive rambled enough haha, but i would honestly say overall even with the drawbacks id take the fold 2 over the find x2 pro if i had to choose again.
also i ordered the Spigen Tough Armor (which seems like it will be a good case protecting the spine/hinge and not being "in the way"when used folded like the araree bonnet)
Either way both phones are really good im sure you'll be happy with either
krabman said:
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds about right. He doesn't own one and is here just trolling away.
I'm not sure what the point of going to a sub section and complaining about a phone you don't own and aren't going to buy is but it happens often enough here. I completely understand the posts where people say they are disappointed about a device as it comes out, are moving elsewhere, and the why. These posts can be useful to those on the fence. To go back to this device I still think while flawed it's an amazing piece of kit and more than any other phone I've ever encountered; one you really have to use to fully get. It's unfortunate the entry fee is so steep as to make test driving one unreasonable for most.
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
randy2 said:
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said... I had the fold1 and now the fold2 and can't imagine going back to a "normal" mobile phone again... regardless of brand.
randy2 said:
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a Note loyalist but I've been playing with the ZF2 at Best Buy and am in love with it. Can't decide if I can give up my SPen though.
Mr. Orange 645 said:
I'm a Note loyalist but I've been playing with the ZF2 at Best Buy and am in love with it. Can't decide if I can give up my SPen though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
DJW35 said:
Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I knew that was the latest rumor. It's one reason I'm considering the Fold 2 now. Might as well grab it, because it will have a higher trade in value next year when I get the Fold 3, LOL.
Add
DJW35 said:
Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So they are saying.
So far the durability has been lacking and the price is higher than I pay for a laptop.
The Fold sales have been dismal thus far... if that tells you something.
Sparkling reviews, all of them.
What's wrong with this picture?
I don't share Samsung's enthusiasm and they grossly overextended themselves trying to develop this technology. Their other expensive phones suffered as a result and during a worldwide economic downturn at that. Brilliant.
The Edsel was a similar money sinkhole released during a recession. That ended well.
I call snake eyes.
Break away in a wide track Pontiac GTO... :laugh:
* And maybe tri-fold phone. Oh my... hold on to your hats:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/mspowe...old-smartphone-bandwagon-with-new-patent/amp/
Apple sounds amused, maybe nervous:
https://www.patentlyapple.com/paten...-continue-to-work-on-a-next-gen-tri-fold.html
blackhawk said:
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So far the durability has been lacking and the price is higher than I pay for a laptop.
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Without a shadow of a doubt the Fold 2 is the best mobile device i have owned in over 20 years of owning a mobile. Durability is perfectly fine (for me), battery life is excellent, (i get 9hrs SOT with the 90hz app) and the main foldable screen is amazing with or without the factory fitted film protector.
The front screen is still slightly too narrow to make the device 100% perfect but perhaps next years Fold3 will resolve that outstanding issue...
I can't imagine ever going back to a "normal" candy bar style phone ever again.
Yes foldable devices are currently hugely expensive but as an early adopter I accept i have chosen to pay more than the average consumer would. Hopefully (!) In a couple of years Samsung will be able to sell a fold5 for 100 or 200 £$€ more than the equivalent S23 Ultra price.
The Title says it all. Now that we are within couple days of knowing more about the Pixel Fold, Would you Trade your Pixel 7 Pro for a Pixel Fold if the specs are exactly the same? Considering the Price is Double and the Trade-In value is pretty good?
Nope. Too expensive, and it is a "first generation" fold from Google. Not to mention, it will probably have the crease down the middle. Maybe a Gen2 or 3 but not a gen 1
The price is outrageous for something that looks like a functioning prototype.
Prediction: Pixel Fold will be an epic failure.
Absolutely not....simply because I'm not a fan of the foldable design. I'll prob end up going for the p8 though if the trade in value is as good as if was for last gen.
No, not interested in foldable devices. The bend on the screen is unacceptable for me.
And the display will be probably prone to scratches.
No way. The money is not worth any device, much less one with old hardware
gpvecchi said:
No, not interested in foldable devices. The bend on the screen is unacceptable for me.
And the display will be probably prone to scratches.
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Yep. That creased screen... I don't know how there is anyone who isn't bothered about buying an $1800 device with a screen that would be considered defective on any other device out of the box
EtherealRemnant said:
Yep. That creased screen... I don't know how there is anyone who isn't bothered about buying an $1800 device with a screen that would be considered defective on any other device out of the box
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Have you actually used a folding phone? Yes the crease is there and yes you can feel it. But you only see it when the screen is off, when using it you can't see it at all. I agree folding phones are extremely expensive and if they are to become mainstream then the price needs to come down
andy242 said:
Have you actually used a folding phone? Yes the crease is there and yes you can feel it. But you only see it when the screen is off, when using it you can't see it at all. I agree folding phones are extremely expensive and if they are to become mainstream then the price needs to come down
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I'll always know that it's there though. It's one of those things that once you see it, you can't unsee it.
No point in buying outdated specs when Tensor G3 should be a sizable improvement.
LLStarks said:
No point in buying outdated specs when Tensor G3 should be a sizable improvement.
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I agree.
I'm waiting for the P8 series to release so that we can see how much of an overall performance difference (heat generation/output, battery life, etc) there is. Plus, if the overall performance difference is miniscule, then the Fold should still be available at a much better price since the next generation of Pixel phones will be available. And, of course, if the price of the Fold doesn't change right away once the P8 series is released, it almost certainly will after a few more weeks pass and it's Black Friday, haha.
No. Maybe the pixel 8 Pro for the flat screen
Another simple: No!!
I do not even want a folding phone crap !!
invent flexible glass first and than maybe I will think about it.
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No never! But i am considering trading my fold 4. But I'm gonna wait and see if it turns out to be really good. (doesn't even have to be great)
Definitely not! looks way to wide when closed to hold comfortably horrid bezels on the large screen and still noticable crease line ,Gen 1 foldable for me and for that price , definitely be waiting for P8P
Nope, I never liked folding phones and probably won't.
I look at the foldables....choke on the price...see a screen that can be damaged by my fingernail...and walk away. I see no way for them to ever have a tougher screen. The materials do not exist - yet. So I highly doubt that I will ever buy any foldable cell phone.